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Missing HSU Student, Erin Henry, Found Deceased

Today, at approximately 9:12 a.m., the body of a young woman was located at the bottom of Elephant Rock near Westhaven. Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman confirmed that this was the body of Erin Henry, a Humboldt State University student who was last seen November 25 by her roommate in the Sunnybrae area southeast of Arcata.

Chapman said, “There is no indication at this time of foul play.” An autopsy will be performed later.

22-year-old Erin Henry was in her last semester at HSU. Her family has been in the area searching for her. They learned the news just a short time ago.

Our hearts go out to them and to her many friends.

Press Release from the Arcata Police:

On the morning of 12/8/2017, the Arcata Police Department was contacted by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and informed a maintenance worker had located a knee scooter along HWY 101 south of Westhaven.

Officers responded to the location and conducted a search of the area. During the search, 22-year-old Erin Henry, reported missing to the APD on 11/30/2017, was discovered deceased a short distance east of HWY 101.

With the assistance of the Humboldt County Sheriff/Coroner, Ms. Henry’s body was recovered.

The preliminary investigation revealed no sign of foul play.

The APD would like to thank the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, CalTrans, Humboldt State University, HSU Theater Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, Humboldt Transit Authority, Crescent City Police Department, AT&T, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, California State Parks and the numerous volunteers that assisted with search efforts.

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UPDATE : Press release from Humboldt State University:

Today we learned of the loss of Humboldt State student Erin Henry. We want to express our deepest sympathies to her family, friends, colleagues, and the faculty and staff who knew her. We ask you to keep her loved ones in your thoughts and comfort each other during this time.

Students can contact Counseling & Psychological Services at 707.826.3236. The Dean of Students Office can also be reached at 707.826.3504. Staff or faculty seeking additional support may utilize the Employee Assistance Program at 707.443.7358.

71 comments

Except for the part where she was on crutches, with no keys, phone, or other personal items we generally take everywhere! No, they don’t have closure, they have a convenient answer. How scary for everyone.

Horrible! So sorry to the friends and family. But reading this something doesn’t add up, did she just wheel herself up there and crawl off on her own? Again, horrible. I spent most of yesterday hoping for a positive outcome on this and the Spaniard.

No foul play? what, did a UFO drop her off the side of the road 20 miles up the 101??? She just hopped on her scooter with a broken ankle and no ID’s or cell phone and went for a little road trip??? Everything about this case is shady. Just how many missing persons and bodies reported in this county go unexplained? What is really going on in this county??? What is this …. look the other way and “don’t close the beach” like in the movie Jaws? Damn strange.

[edit] The police don’t just release an initial statement and leave it at that. There’s this thing they do that’s called an investigation, it’s a bit of a longer word, so look it up in the dictionary if you need to. Just because they released a statement doesn’t mean they are done investigating the case. Apparently you’re not aware of this, but police don’t just release all of their information to the public as soon as they get it so everybody knows everything they do.

Perhaps give time for a complete investigation before jumping to conclusions that nothing is being done. This is not CSI on TV with a 60 minute time frame to solve a case. The real world takes time. Also, not all facts are released at the time of an investigation so that a through investigation without a rush to judgement can be completed. Just saying be patient and stop being negative.

Oh, okay! So we will have answers any minute now for that girl getting choked to death in Eureka and we will get justice for Josiah and yeah that guy who started Stardoughs getting shot on Titlow where everybody knows the shooters and the missing girls down near Fortuna where the cops are mad when anybody actually says the killer’s name on public media because one of these years they are really going to get him? Yeah- the cops are super good investigators around here! Let’s not disturb their excellent work. I hear they even might be able to put Marci Kitchen at the scene of a drunk driving hit and run! By golly they sure are good!!

Law enforcement in Humboldt County and their inability to investigate crimes thoroughly and solve cases, closely parallels the Humboldt County Medical system’s inability to thoroughly investigate illnesses and solve medical cases.

There is a bus stop just up the highway on the Westhaven exit at the stop sign. Maybe check in with all bus drivers about this too! It’s not that far from where she was found and not that difficult to navigate. I’m so sorry for your loss of your beautiful daughter, sister and friend.

that would make sense only if she had her student ID (bus pass) on her. But her wallet and cell phone were both left in her home. There’s clearly foul play involved, even if they haven’t found it yet. But it is APD, so we’ll see if they even conduct a full investigation. Prayers to the family that they actually solve this one.

Wow so glad you know thers foul play, where’s your proof?
Have you ever been in a place where you’re ready to kill yourself??
People do “odd” things when they get to that point, believe me. Unfortunately I know a few folks who chose to go by their own hand and both went to the beach to do it.

And yes local law enforcement is lacking but sometimes family’s ask for information to be kept from the public. When there’s a court hearing is usually when stories come out.

Hopefully the autopsy reveals something helpful. Theres no way she made it that far without without her walking device, nor could she have thrown it that far. It seems like someone intentionally abandoned her there. Sickos.

Or she got run off the road or hit by a car. How do you know how far off the road the scooter was, were you involved in locating it or otherwise?
I highly doubt caltrans workers were hiking down that steep slope, it couldn’t have been far from the edge since they specifically said “along hwy 101” not down a cliff off of it.

why assume the worst? Feeding the fear monster telling us horrible people are responsible for every death is not helping, lets at least balance it with the possibility of an accident happening.
Jumping to conclusions helps no one..

There are several things about this 1. It is reported she was upset about something the night she went missing. No one knows what it was but they know she was upset. 2. If your abducted your kidnapper isn’t going to take your walking device and they darn sure aren’t going to carry you 13 miles even in a car and leave your scooter by the side of the road to be found. She left without her car without her phone without her id. It is pretty clear her state of mind was questionable. I hate to break it but it sounds like she did this. She sounds like a wonderfully sweet person, she is an excellent student according to school. We however don’t really know who she was or what she was going thru in her personal life, somebody knows family friends but not us. I think there is more to ms Henry. The police made an odd statement at the beginning “we haven’t ruled out an abduction”. That spoke volumes it meant that there was a good chance she did this. I am so sorry for her family I prayed that no matter what she would be brought home and she has been. God be with her family.

Different objects fall at different rates. A human body is larger, heavier, and more solid than a knee scooter, which is lightweight and made of hollow metal tubing and a little cushion. *IF* she were at the top of Elephant Rock, it makes sense that her body would have fallen straight down, while the scooter, which is more like grandma’s walker than a moped, would fall more obliquely and possibly get caught up in brush or other vegetation. That’s *if* she was at the top of the rock as opposed to falling from the shoulder of the highway, which is still possible.

I figure the only reason Cal-Trans found the scooter and no one else did was because they were probably mowing grass or clearing brush.

Freedom Club – you can believe however you wish but don’t mock the faith of other people. Most of the people who do the toughest work in the world – ie military, police, fire fighters etc are praying people.

Kim, I will mock whoever the hell I want. Especially when it is a concept as weak as faith. Just because a large number of people do it really has no merit to its validity. If you religious fools were half as confident in your beliefs as you claim to be, it shouldn’t bother you one iota if someone mocked it. Freedom of speech is how your fight bad ideas out there in the world. In case you haven’t noticed the world is full of foolish brain washed idiots. And LOL at police and tough work. I’m sure it’s really tough to wield all that power over other people while enforcing corrupt agendas. Prayer is for the weakest of weak people who want to feel as if they have done something to contribute, but can muster little more than a gesture and cannot face the reality of the world we live in.

It is ignorant to mock people for their faith. You’re lack of experience does not negate the reality of other people’s spiritual experiences. Ignorance is forgivable, because it means that one does not know better. Your comments go beyond ignorance unfortunately; they show a true lack of empathy on your part.

Such a tragic event, whatever the scenario. Her tattoo “Anna Rowland” piqued my curiosity so I googled the name only to find her obituary due to an accident in 2016. This beautiful woman, Erin Henry, appears to have been her cousin also in her early 20’s who had accomplished so much already.
That’s a lot of heartache & loss for this family. Very difficult indeed.

The mystery of Erin’s death will not be revealed yet but she might have been under the influence of the same
thing that the young man was who ran away from his friend near Carlotta. Where is he?
I believe she did scoot to Westhaven probably out of her mind, and died there.
Her death is similar to others recently in some respects, pay attention because the truth is out there…
My sympathy for all involved, including the police!

How sad. After watching the video that terrain full of berry bushes looks difficult to navigate without a broken ankle. I am curious to know how she got through that terrain and up that steep of a rock to jump off with a broken ankle.

There is more to the story.. there was a young guy early twenties on the front side of the rock in the ravine. about a week ago on my way to Mckinleyville I saw him and honked in a waving gesture he looked my way. though I didn’t really make out his looks. cept clean cut young kid. so. if he was there. wouldn’t he had seen her ? I read somewhere else. someone else saw him as well.